


Just meant to be

by baeconandeggs, masaringo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 21:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14679945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/masaringo/pseuds/masaringo
Summary: Over the years they’ve been together, Baekhyun and Chanyeol have been altering the story of how they’d really got together. Now, it’s time for their friends to tell what really went down.





	Just meant to be

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #:** BAE266
> 
> **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author's Note:** Thanks to the prompter, for this wonderful idea. I changed my mind several times along the way, but still I hope I was able to make it justice. And to the mods, for being incredibly patient and all around great. Enjoy!

"Let’s try not to embarrass Junmyeonnie too much this time, okay?" Chanyeol said, not lifting his eyes from the salad he was currently preparing. Well, if that pasta-and-mayo monstrosity could even be called a salad. But calling it so made them feel mature and responsible at their ripe age of almost thirty, while Baekhyun refused to eat anything that could be considered remotely healthy.

Baekhyun himself was putting the finishing touches in the dessert (which, considering it was jello, were only, you know. Making the jello), and Chanyeol sighed at the domesticity of it.

He loved the idea of having friends over, of cooking for them and having them share a few hours of their now busy and sometimes boring life. Being in your late twenties wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but he was glad to have Baekhyun there with him.

It wouldn't take long for their friends to get there. The whole dinner thing had actually been Baekhyun's idea. One of their friends, Junmyeon, had started dating one of his coworkers a couple of months ago, and they had yet to meet him. And, Baekhyun being Baekhyun, was looking forward to the chance of embarrassing his friend, if only a little.

"I can't promise anything."

Chanyeol couldn't help but laugh, "Well, at least try to. You know how nervous he was about this. And all he talks about at the gym is how cute his boyfriend is."

Baekhyun hummed, "I know, Yeol. I'm just kidding. I'm curious about this new boyfriend, tho. We've never seen him in love."

 

\----

 

Chanyeol was taking the wine out of the fridge when someone knocked the door, and Jongdae and Minseok came in. Kyungsoo and Jongin wouldn't be able to make it, so all that remained was the main couple of the evening.

Once they had gotten there, though, it didn't take long for Baekhyun to break his promise. Yifan was tall and handsome, and it would've been a waste if he didn't comment on it. Plus, watching Junmyeon blush had always been one of his favorite things.

The rest of the evening had been nice, tho. It had been some time since they'd all gotten together, and Yifan seemed to fit into their weird little group as if he'd always been there. He'd even laughed at some of Baekyun's dumb jokes, which usually only Chanyeol found amusing. If he wasn't put out by his friends, Junmyeon thought, he could practically introduce him to the rest of his (comparatively more normal) family.

 

\----

 

It was after the salad and the jello, and before the coffee and cookies that their favorite question came up.

"So, you and Jun met in college, right?" Yifan asked, gesturing to Chanyeol.

"Yeah, hyung was my tutor in freshman year and we started hanging out and became friends later on."

"What about Baekhyun? Did you meet at school, too?"

The couple broke into a freakishly big smile, at the same time that Junmyeon and Jongdae groaned. Minseok was too busy laughing to care.

When you've been in a relationship as long as Baekhyun and Chanyeol have, there are some stories that have been repeated so many times that they're oiled to perfection, like a complicated choreography they knew to a t and could perform with their eyes closed. The story of how they'd met, tho, was particularly well practiced. Each of them knew which parts to tell and with which voice inflection. Where each joke fit the best and where to pause for dramatic effect. It was as close to art as you could get.

 

\----

 

"It was a warm spring day in our second year of college," Baekhyun began, "Chanyeol worked at a big coffee shop near the music building, so I went there a lot."

"I've noticed him before, his incomparable beauty and charm was hard to forget," Chanyeol paused then, turning to his boyfriend with a smile, "One day, I noticed he'd left his phone on the table, so I kept it."

"I went back for it and that's how our eyes met for the first time, with cherry blossoms falling in the background and sunbeam entering though the door. I knew right then that we were made for each other."

"It was like a magnet that drove us together."

"Destiny."

"Soulmates."

"Oh god, why am I friends with you," Junmyeon groaned.

"Not this dramatic shit again, please," Jongdae added, "You always tell it like that and it messes with the real story."

Chanyeol glared at them, "What are you talking about, that was exactly how it happened!"

"In your dreams? Probably. But it's an exaggerated and distorted version of the actual events."

"It's not!" Baekhyun huffed, leaning back on his chair, "It was precisely like that!"

"I was there, Baek. And I've known you forever, so you can't lie to me," Jongdae pressed.

Minseok hadn't lost his smirk since they'd began the story. Coincidentally, he'd been there too. "Why don't you tell the story then, love?" he told Jongdae, pleased when Baekhyun shot him a dirty look.

"Yeah, why don't you, Dae?"

"Hey, don't test me. I got Kyungsoo to tell me your side a couple of years ago, Yeol."

"Soo's side. Everyone has different perspectives."

"Actually, I don't remember it like you were telling it either," Junmyeon piped in.

"Of course you do, Jun!" Chanyeol whined.

"It was the middle of spring," Jongdae started, raising his voice to cut the small argument out, "and Baek and I were at the ugliest coffee shop in the country, as we did every single day, so that Baekhyun could ogle the apparent love of his life."

"Well, _obviously_  I was right so..."

"So we went there for a whole month, until Baekhyun ran out of money because of all that terrible and unnecessary coffee."

"That's literally what we were telling Yifan, but with more useless details!"

"Anyway, the thing is they only met because Byun's head was a mess because of his crush and he forgot his phone. Like, who even forgets their phones nowadays?"

"It was only for a couple of minutes!"

"Enough for Chanyeol to find it," Jongdae continued, smirking at Yifan, "And, of course, we can't forget the tiny little detail of Baekhyun having a boyfriend at the time."

Yifan's eyes went to Chanyeol, looking for any sign of surprise or discomfort, but he was taking a sip of coffee, chill as ever.

Who _was_  actually surprised, tho, was someone else.

"You were with that other guy, then?!"Junmyeon almost-yelled. "I thought you'd met Yeol after him!" 

"Nope. Yeol was actually the reason we broke up," Baekhyun explained, munching on another cookie as if he hadn't just shifted Junmyeon's worldview.  

"I've had to listen to you tell this story a million times, how is this the first time I hear this?"

"Dae is just making a huge deal out of a tiny little detail. The end of the story is the same," Baekhyun dismissed, waving his hand.

Junmyeon then turned to Jongdae, ignoring the couple, "How did it happen, then?"

Jongdae smiled with evil glee.

"So, you know Baek was dating that smelly frat boy-"

Baekhyun choked on his coffee, coughs turning into laughter until there were tears in his eyes, "Smelly?" he finally managed.

"Yeah. He always smelt like sweat, you know. Too many gym hours. Which is not something that applies to your current partner."

Everyone turned to Chanyeol then, who was balancing five chocolate chips cookies and a piece of cake (where had that come from?) on his small coffee plate.

"He's lucky he doesn't gain weight."

"Hey! Junmyeon hyung and I go to the gym together!"

"I don't think sitting on the weight bench and watching anime on your phone counts as going to the gym, Yeol."

"Well, going back to the story, I didn't think he smelt that bad," Baekhyun interrupted, earning a thankful glance from his boyfriend.

"Yes, yes he did," Jongdae retorted, Minseok nodding beside him, "The thing is, Baekhyun was with smelly guy, and they had issues 'cos smelly was a jealous sort of guy, and they'd been together for like... a couple of months? And Baek was pretty obviously only in it for-"

"Sex," Baekhyun completed with a sweet smile.

"Ok, that was straightforward," Junmyeon mumbled.

Once again everyone turned back to Chanyeol, who paused in the middle of licking the last bit of cream from his cake from his lips when he noticed their eyes on him.

"We've been together for almost a decade, guys. Don't you think I knew that?'

"So,"  Jongdae continued after a moment of stunned silence, "one day we were going to the coffee shop, and Baek was complaining about something, probably about smelly, and then all of the sudden que goes quiet. And I look at him and he was staring at this freakishly tall and lanky guy in an apron."

"Hey!" Chanyeol protested, "Twenty year-old me was ripped as fuck!"

"Sure, big guy. Whatever lets you sleep at night," Jongdae dismissed, "And then Baek turns to me and says 'Wow, that's the love of my life' and since then he hasn't stopped looking at him. So yeah, that's the real story."

"And then what? Did you talk to each other by chance?" Yifan asked, caught in the story.

"No, no. The cellphone thing actually happened, but it was much more hilarious than it sounds."

"I told you, it was destiny, Dae." Baekhyun explained.

"I guess so," he said, a real smile on his face as he looked at the couple, "According to Kyungsoo, Chanyeol had noticed Baek before, too."

"He was perfect, how could I not notice him?" Chanyeol nodded, kissing the top of his boyfriend's head.

"Plus, he had the best butt I'd ever seen," he added, tucking Baekhyun into his side, who made a grimace before laughing and burrowing into him.

"Well, stop. I didn't open the door for PDA," Jongdae wrinkled his nose, "Whatever. Thing is, apparently Yeol had a huge crush on this tiny and loud as fuck customer who was always there, but apparently, he hadn't noticed that Baekhyun was the same way, to the point of almost running out of money after that first month, to the point of having to go less and actually saving whatever money he got to go to this place. This went on for like... two months until this airhead right here-"

"Hey!"

"-left his phone behind."

"You were especially handsome that day, love. I would've been distracted too if I had to be so gorgeous all the time," Chanyeol said, rubbing his shoulder with the arm across his back. 

"Aw, thanks Yeollie."

"Ugh, stop it. Baekhyun was gross back then. It was finals' week and you'd probably not showered in days."

"Lies and slander!"

"Back to the story. Chanyeol found the phone, and when he looked at the wallpaper he found Baekhyun and smelly smiling up at him, and his little, baby Chanyeol heart broke in a million little pieces because he hadn't realized his dear crush was already _dating someone else_ ," Jongdae continued, "But didn't have the guts to leave his boyfriend because he was sure his lovely barista was straight as a board."

"My gaydar didn't work on him," Baekhyun nodded wisely.

"Chanyeol was taking the phone to the back office in case someone came back for it, but then it started ringing, and Yeol, being the weirdo that he is, picked up."

"Hey! I thought it was my crush who I had just found out was with someone else!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Stop interrupting me. So, when he picked up the phone it turned out to be Baek's boyfriend, Mr. Smelly."

"The guy started yelling and cursing at me because apparently he and Baek were supposed to go out that day but Baek hadn't showed up or answered his messages," Chanyeol continued.

"He said all that without even asking who he was talking to?" Yifan asked, a mixture between amused and bewildered.

"He wouldn't let me talk, and when I tried to interrupt he got even angrier," he shrugged.

"He was super mad," Baekhyun explained.

"He was an asshole. That's not how you talk to someone you're dating, it doesn't matter if you're mad at them."

"Thing is, Baekhyun's boyfriend left Chanyeol over a phone call."

"He didn't even say it to my face!" Chanyeol fake-cried into his boyfriend's shoulder.

"But for real, tho. We were together for months, what a jerk. That was super rude."

"You wouldn't be here -telling us this- if that hadn't happened" Minseok pointed out.

"Thing is, that while Chanyeol was going through this, Baekhyun had finally realized he was missing his phone, and was on his way back to the shop. And when he got there one of the other employees told him that this guy Chanyeol had it in the back room. So he got there-"

"And found it was my crush who had it, so I panicked."

"And knowing Chanyeol and his weirdness he probably started babbling and explaining what had happened."

"When I saw Baek, I thought an angel had fallen from heaven," Chanyeol said, Baekhyun and Jongdae joining him at almost the same time.

"One at the time, please. You're going to scare my boyfriend away," Junmyeon chided them. 

Yifan laughed, waiting until the group sorted out what had really happened. Chanyeol's version made him look more competent, but Jongdae had gotten his from Kyungsoo, who'd gotten it from an eavesdropping employee, who was apparently a better source than those actually involved in the conversation.

 

\----

 

_Chanyeol had tried to speak first, because the boy (his crush!!!) looked freaked out when he noticed he was holding his phone, and he was also aware that he'd have to tell him that his boyfriend had broken up with him. Which would suck. It was probably some karma related thing, where if you pined after someone taken you'd have to be the one to tell them they'd been dumped._

_"Baekhyun, right?"_

_"Yeah... I think you have my phone?" he said, taking a few steps towards him._

_"Your... your boyfriend called."_

_"Did you pick up?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Wait. How did you know he was my boyfriend?"_

_"Well he- I think he mentioned the two of you were in a relationship? He thought I was you, actually. And he was really angry."_

_"What?" Baekhyun was looking progressively more alarmed, and Chanyeol knew his next words would only make it worse._

_"I think he broke up with me. With you, I mean. But I'm sure it's a misunderstanding! I mean with your face and laughter and whole," he gestured, encompassing the whole of Baekhyun, "I can't see why he would ever leave you. So you just need to talk. Yeah, just that."_

_They just stared at each other for a moment after his little rant, Chanyeol feeling like all the blood in his body had gone to his face, and he would soon pass out from sheer embarrassment. Then, though, Baekhyun started laughing so hard he almost collapsed on himself._

_"So, you know my name, that I'm gay and that I've been single for the past ten minutes. How is it that I don't know anything about you?"_

_Chanyeol's worries flew out of the window, his only remaining brain cell freaking out because !!!!! Baekhyun !!!! the guy he'd been crushing on for months,  was actually flirting with him!_

_"Are you over your ex already?" Chanyeol managed to laugh. He would take Baekhyun out in an instant, but he would_ not _be a rebound._

 _"Well, he_ did _break up with me over the phone. I'm just fast forwarding though the stages of grief. But I'm sure if you go out on a date with me everything will be easier, don't you... Chanyeol, right? I mean, that's what your coworker said. And your tag," he said, gesturing to his uniform. If Chanyeol had known him better, he could have seen how terribly nervous he actually was, but from his point of view, Baekhyun was nothing but smooth and collected._

_"It depends on where you're taking me to in that supposed date of yours," Chanyeol hummed, knowing full well that he'd follow Baekhyun to a dumpster._

_"Wherever you want, I'll pay."_

_"Hmm. I've always wanted to go to the most expensive restaurant in Seoul. We could try that."_

_Baekhyun laughed, charmed by the smile the guy in front of him was trying to suppress._

_"Something I can afford as a student. And as one that spends most of his money on coffee at this one coffee shop with the cute barista. Besides, you're the one who has a job, so the next date is on you."_

_Chanyeol preened at the compliment, chuckling before handling him his cellphone back, not missing the way Baekhyun's fingers purposefully brushed his, "I haven't even agreed to our first date and you're already planning the second one?"_

_"I have this hunch that you're already falling for me."_

_That did actually manage to make Chanyeol blush, despite his best efforts._

_"See? You look pretty when you blush." Baekhyun grinned, batting his eyelashes. "I'll pick you up once your shift is over."_

_"How do you know when it ends?"_

_"It is possible that you're not the only one who's interested," he winked before exiting the backroom, barely missing Chanyeol's coworker._

"And that's how, after an embarrassingly low number of dates, this two got together and almost automatically became the most sickeningly sweet couple ever," Jongdae finished.

 

\----

 

"And you've been together since then?" Yifan asked. 

"Almost," Baekhyun shrugged, "We had a pretty big fight after graduating college. Chanyeol had started working and I couldn't get a job and we barely saw each other. The two of us were too stressed. So we were fighting all the time and we ended up breaking up." 

"Yeah, it sucked," Jongdae said, Junmyeon and Minseok nodding in agreement. "If there's anything worse than this two together and madly in love it's them being depressed and crying because they weren't together. I was the one to make them sit down and talk, 'cause they were both too hurt and stubborn to admit they fucking missed each other and wanted to get back together. They both looked like shit, too," he explained, sipping on his wine. 

"Those were hard times," Baekhyun nodded, leaning into Chanyeol's shoulder, "We finally talked and figured out our best shot was moving in together and at least sharing time at home. And that's how our little love nest was born," Chanyeol was looking at his boyfriend with nothing short of adoration, and leaned down to kiss him, a little bit too deep to be in company. 

"Ugh, stop it," Jongdae said, hiding his face in Minseok's shoulder, who chuckled and pat his hair. 

"You and Minseokkie hyung are grosser than the two of us," Chanyeol pointed out when he managed to pull himself out of the kiss. 

"We're not! You two suck, you look as if flowers and fucking glitter follow you when you walk together." 

"I loooove you," Baekhyun teased, making kissy faces at his boyfriend. Bothering his best friend was his favorite hobby in the world and he wasn't about to pass out this perfect opportunity. 

"Stop it!" 

Junmyeon was looking at them from his place besides Yifan, hoping to one day live the sort of lasting, intense love that his friends had managed to find in each other, int their relationship. Yifan took his hand in his, stroking it with his thumb, and he had the feeling that kind of love wasn't so far off. 

 

\----

 

After their friends had left, happy and warm and with Junmyeon knowing that his friends had liked his boyfriend, Chanyeol kept thinking about his relationship with Baekhyun. They'd been together for almost ten years, almost a third of their life, and Chanyeol could confidently say that those'd been the best years of his life. He loved Baekhyun more than that first time he had seen him going into the coffee shop, something he hadn't thought possible at the time. They'd been through so much together, good and bad stuff, and they remained together, growing into themselves and maturing without growing apart. His adoration for his boyfriend had remained the same.

Baekhyun had started to clean up the mess on the coffee table, picking up glasses and napkins, "See, this is why I don't like having people over," he whined, "I'm full and tired but not drunk enough to justify leaving the clean up for tomorrow."

It was then that Chanyeol felt ready, when he laughed at the cute pout the love of his life, his partner, his favorite person in the world was making. He dropped the broom he was holding and ran to their bedroom, scrambling around for the little box that had been sitting in his bedside table for the past two weeks. 

Baekhyun was still picking things up from the table, and he looked up with raised eyebrows and confusion clear on his face when he ran back into the living room. Chanyeol got closer, and then the panic hit him, the 0,00001% chance that Baekhyunnie would reject him and he would Die.

He then knocked the things Baekhyun was holding in his hands, mostly cutlery, that clattered into the floor, not breaking but making a lot of noise.

Baekhyun seemed annoyed now, bordering on angry, "What are you doing, Yeol? Now you'll have to sweep the floor, too!" he said, getting to his knees to pick up what had fallen.

"Sorry love, I panicked."

"Panicked?"

"Yeah. You have to do it now, you're in place crouching down and everything!" 

Baekhyun stared at him until Chanyeol managed to hand him the little box he'd been clenching in his hand for the past few minutes. Baekhyun's confusion didn't seem to clear until he opened the box and looked inside.

"Ask me to marry you. Don't worry, I'll say yes," Chanyeol babbled, wringing his hands.

Baekhyun seemed at a loss of words, still crouching amid several coffee spoons and a coaster.

"What are you saying, Yeollie?"

"You don't want to ask me?" Chanyeol asked, feeling panic seep back into him.

Baekhyun started laughing then, looking as beautiful as ever with his rectangular-shaped smile, but sounding slightly (and uncharacteristically) hysteric.

"I love you, Yeol. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know, right?"

Chanyeol felt like crying a little now, and he suddenly got why people usually cried at proposals. Baekhyun was perfect and he was going to _marry_  him.

But then Baekhyun stood up and left the room, leaving Chanyeol so confused he didn't even get to panic again. He came back with something in his hand and shoved it into Chanyeol's.

"Well, if I'm proposing to you with your ring, you should propose to me with mine," he said, eyes suspiciously shiny.

Chanyeol opened the box, staring at the simple, silver ring, his eyes catching on the inscription on the inside. 

**_'Just meant to be'_ **

Chanyeol started jumping in place then, feeling his joy was too big to just stand still, "You wanted to marry me too?! You still do, right? For real?! I can't believe it!"

Baekhyun started jumping with him, too, crushing him into a hug. Chanyeol hugged him back, and they started spinning around while they laughed and cried and were generally a mess.

"Marry me, Yeollie?" he said when they finally stopped.

"Would you marry me, Baek?"

"A thousand times, in every universe, love."

Chanyeol kissed him then, feeling every nerve-ending sigh at the touch of Baekhyun's body.

"I love you. I love you so so so much."

"Can we get married tomorrow?"

"Whenever you want, love."

"What about right now?"

Baekhyun chucked, tightening his arms around him, "I don't think we can marry today, love. But tomorrow, yes."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

"Ok. Then let’s go to bed now. We'll clean in the morning."

Chanyeol knew they weren't getting married the following day, probably not the next few months either. But, was it tomorrow or in a thousand years, he still knew they'd be together for the rest of forever.


End file.
